Like all new cities, the new Abu Dhabi cultural district requires a center of gravity, a meeting place where different aspects of culture converge. The site for the Sheik Zayed National Museum and the three Biennale pavilions provided an opportunity for such a focal point. The intention was to create a great cosmopolitan space, comparable to Venice’s Piazza San Marco but conceived in the round, with the Sheikh Zayed Museum providing an equivalent to its Basilica.